Mike Lee

I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are aware of the comparatively generous treatment afforded to President Obama's nominees, particularly those for the Fourth Circuit.

I commend President Obama for his excellent choice in this nomination.

I applaud this progress, which I think demonstrates Ranking Member Grassley's commitment as well as that of the Republican members on this Committee to work with our Democratic colleagues in moving forward with consensus nominees.

But you have described yourself as a huge fan of an organization that calls for no economic growth.

In Utah, these farms contribute more than $2 billion a year to our economy.

I want to emphasize the double-pronged nature of the threat because there is only one side of it I feel has gotten adequate attention.

There's a difference between revenue raisers and tax increases. There are ways of raising revenue without raising taxes. If it's a tax increase, that's something that Republicans in the House and in the Senate are not going to support.

Clearly, the process was abused. You don't use a hotline to bait and switch the country into a military conflict.

Thank you, Senator Shaheen. It's a pleasure to be here today, and I thank you for chairing this hearing on a number of water and power measures.

Thank you. I've got a couple of technical lingering questions just related to the funding mechanism contemplated in S. 1224.

I want to also thank Senator Orrin Hatch and Senator Mike Lee for introducing this important legislation.

Nothing further. Thank you.

If you're committed to having it happen, I assume that it wouldn't be a problem to use the 'shall' language.

It makes a difference in much the same way that if my wife said, 'Mike, take out the trash, you shall take out the trash and do the dishes,' that means something different than 'Mike, you may take out the trash and do the dishes.'

It doesn't seem to me to be a very good idea, if we want something to happen, to say 'may' rather than 'shall.'

I was a big fan of that. I was in high school when it passed, and I had great optimism for it.

I think tying the spending reductions to the debt limit increase is very important.

We can't speak now for what successive Congresses will do.

I trust that your children are experts by now in the rule against perpetuities, the doctrine of worthier title, and the rule in Shelley's case.

I always try to look at areas within government where we could simplify and roll back things that government does.

And the entire time the clock is ticking.

Don't you think we could benefit from moving toward a simpler tax code?

Utah is also a state with a strong interest in the life sciences. We have got 600 different life sciences companies in Utah, employing over 25,000 people.

We have talked a lot about R&D tax credits today, and I understand the allure that those credits hold for this industry.

I wonder whether we could not benefit from an effort to simplify our tax system.